Heat change lineup, Giannis steps forward in 114-108 victory over Kings

Ira Winderman, Miami Herald on Nov 8, 2026

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This wasn’t going to be a night for a statement victory. Of course, at this stage, the Miami Heat are in no position to be choosy.

So against an opponent that entered 1-8 and was lacking sidelined three-time All-Star and current NBA rebounding leader Domantas Sabonis, Erik Spoelstra’s team simply took care of business Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.

While the 114-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings hardly was overwhelming or emphatic in light of the competition, the Heat remain very much in early-season survival mode at the moment, improving to 4-6.

And survived they did, behind 29 points and 14 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 23 point from Klay Thompson, built off of 7 of 13 3-point accuracy.

The Heat also got 18 points and eight rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 17 points and 11 assists from Davion Mitchell, who also put together several solid late defensive sequences.

Those efforts proved enough to help offset 32 points from Sacramento rookie sensation Darius Acuff Jr., last June’s No. 5 overall pick out of Arkansas.

From the start, when Spoelstra removed Andrew Wiggins from the starting lineup in place of Pelle Larsson, it was clear what mattered most was the season’s fourth victory, even one that came with a 44-36 rebounding deficit and 8-of-18 shooting from the line, that element overcome with 18 of 43 3-point shooting.

Five degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

— Game flow: The Heat led 34-30 at the end of the opening period. The Heat’s seven first-quarter 3-pointers tied their high for a period this season.

The Heat then moved to a 68-59 halftime lead, which matched their largest lead to that stage, aided by 12 Kings first-half turnovers.

A 7-0 run to open the second half then staked the Heat to a 75-59 lead, only to see the Kings counter with a 17-5 run, the third quarter ending with the Heat up 91-81.

From there, a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter helped the Kings eventually tie it 95-95 with 6:12 to play.

That’s when Larsson stepped up with a go-ahead 3-pointer and Michell followed with key plays on both ends to help put it away.

— Giannis’ night: Forced to take his offense more often to the perimeter. Antetokounmpo still found a way to get things done, one a night he shot 1 of 7 from the line, fouled intentionally at the close.

With his 15th point, Antetokounmpo passed Larry Bird (21,791) for 40th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Antetokounmpo’s ninth basket was the 8,000th of his career.

Along the way, Antetokounmpo recorded his 9,000th career rebound.

It also was the seventh consecutive game for Antetokounmpo with at least 12 rebounds, tying the seventh longest streak with at least 12 in the Heat’s 29 seasons. The record is 11 consecutive such games by Omer Yurtseven in 2021-22, followed by nine in a row by Hassan Whiteside in 2014-15.

— Changing times: For the first time in his team’s 10 games, Spoelstra shook up his team’s starting lineup, with Larsson given the start in place of slumping Wiggins.

It was a dramatic move for more than just being the Heat’s first lineup change of the season.

It was, in fact, the first time Wiggins has played as a reserve since the 2023-24 season with the Golden State Warriors, when he played 12 of his 71 games off the bench. That season was the only season he has played off the bench in his 13 seasons.

Wiggins again was uneven, closing with six points on 2-of-6 shooting in 31 mintues.

— Larsson’s chance: Larsson, by contrast, had been a staple as a starter at times over his three seasons, including 54 of his 70 appearances last season, while also starting eight times as a rookie in 2024-25.

The change, though, lasted all of 2:11, with Larsson forced to the bench with his second foul with 9:49 left in the opening period.

Otherwise, the other four starters remained Antetokounmpo, Adebayo, Thompson and Mitchell.

Larsson was up to five fouls 67 seconds into the fourth quarter, with fouls among the reasons extended starter’s minutes had long been a question with the guard taken in the 2024 second round.

Larsson fouled out with 1:51 to play, closing with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 22 minutes.

— Onward: The Heat’s five-game western swing, one that has had them on the road since Nov. 1, concludes Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz.

From there, it will be a five-game homestand, a challenging run that opens with a Friday-Saturday back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons and also includes games against the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

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